I Am Death
by Soundwave1455
Summary: Death returns many years later with much more experience, now powers, and rage building in his heart
1. Chapter 1

I Am Death (Chapter 1)

Hell-Quake

It was late, somewhere around 12, in the dark city of New York. Two men were hiding in a dark alley, stalking their next victim. Waiting for their person to appear, they heard footsteps behind them. They turned around and saw two red eyes piercing into their souls. The men were frozen in terror for a moment then turned and ran for their life, literally. As they sprinted out of the alley, one man looked back and there was nothing there, but when he looked back to where he was running…there he was again; right in front of both of the men was the same figure which was just with them in the alley only seconds ago. They both fell back in fear as a voice came from the frightening figure, "You see this hourglass? It means your time has come." The figure swung a scythe that he was carrying at one of the men and cut him in half, separating his torso from his lower body. The other man stood and ran for his life, but did not get far. This now 'murderer' began to raise his hand and the ground started to shake. The higher he raised it, the more the earth shook. The sprinting man paid no attention to unstable ground. As the murderer's hand was near above his head, he clenched his hand and the earth split open. It cracked right in front of the terrified man, but he did not have time to stop. His foot got caught in the gap, and just as he began to crawl out, multiple burning hands grabbed him and started to pull him back into the hole. The hands burned his flesh as he was barely hanging on to the edge. The man looked up and saw that figure standing over top of him; it would be the last thing he would see on this earth. The cold, bloodied blade swept down and amputated the man's hands, and was completely engulfed by the fire that came through the gap. The murderer then closed his hand again and the closing of the hole followed.

This dark figure or 'murderer' was the infamous Death or the Grim Reaper as some would call him; the Devil's puppet or the Shadow of Death. This Reaper was once human though, Tim Wakes was his name, but human was not the best way to describe him. He was a ruthless serial killer who killed all who dwelled in his home. He destroyed his father, ripped his mother's head off, blew apart his brother, and mutilated his sister; soon after he was taken to an asylum where he would spend the rest of his life. But one night, Death came to him with an important message, "Lucifer needs a new Reaper". Frightened but obedient, Tim followed Death into the depths of hell and stood before Satan himself. The Devil did just as Death said and transformed him into his new Reaper. Tim proved to be an effective Reaper; taking on a guardian angel with barely any experienced and managed to survive. After a year of this 'occupation', Lucifer sent him back to fight that same guardian, but this time with help. He sent Semiazas, the demon of war, to assist him. He was of great help and detained the guardian while Tim took the soul of who the angel was guarding. When all was over and done with, Semiazas, who was the most powerful being in hell next to Lucifer, promised to teach Tim all that he knew.

Decades upon decades have passed since that day; eighty years to be exact. I was now a well experienced Reaper. I had learned quicker than the previous Reaper because of Semiazas's training. Along the way, Satan granted me great powers. One thing that did not change, of course, was my Devil's scythe: my signature weapon of destruction. Through all the bodies and bones that it tore through, it did not once dull. Lucifer told me that it would remain sharp for all eternity and would feed on all the souls that it came in contact with, therefore, making it stronger with each mortal I slew. And now I had two more souls to deliver to my master.

"You're doing quite well Death. Not even the last Reaper was as efficient as you are." Lucifer complemented me. "You are greatly pleasing me. I also see that you're taking a liking to that new power I gave you." "You mean the hell-quake?" "Wait, you're naming them?" "Well it's easier than saying the power that splits the earth open and pulls down anything in its path." "I suppose that's true, but it is your power and you can do with it as you please." "How did it go Death?" Semiazas said as he approached from behind. "Did you use the hell-quake?" "Both of you are calling it that now?" Satan said. "Why not? It makes sense and has a nice ring to it." Semiazas responded. "Yes I did use it and it was highly effective, I will remember it for the future." "Good, now come, back to training; I still have a lot to teach you." I followed Semiazas to the makeshift arena that he created centuries ago from the spikes protruding from the ground. "I am going to teach you a valuable technique that you should only need to use against a guardian. It is disarming your target, although it will be difficult to teach you while you use the Devil's scythe." "I am still willing to learn Semiazas, continue with the lesson." "Very well, as you saw before, my axe is specially designed to disarm my opponent. You see these gaps? They are just large enough to fit a sword through. I use that to my advantage and, with a little force, can remove a weapon from my enemy. But you, however, wield a scythe; you are both difficult to disarm and do the disarming to someone. Try this." He showed me an option as to how I could take the weapon from my opponent. He demonstrated by flipping the scythe upside down and using the edge and curve of the blade to get behind my opponents arms and pull forward, leaving my opponents weapon to fly from his hands and land towards myself. He returned my scythe to me and, with practice, performed the move flawlessly. "You learn very quickly; I am rather impressed by your progress. Go to Lucifer and when you return from your next assignment we shall have a duel. You and me, all out, no mercy, but not one to the death of course. What do you say Death? Apply all that you've learned to the one that taught you it all." "I think it would be enjoyable, I'll be sure to return soon." "Remember Death; show no mercy on the condemned!" Semiazas said as I walked away, eager to quickly return for our duel.

"Master, you have a new assignment I hear." "Yes Death, but it's a challenge. I'm sending you after another guardian, but this time you're going alone; see if all that training was really worth it. If you fail to release that mortals spirit than don't expect a great return. If you fail then it shall be me that you will duel, not Semiazas." "It will not have to come to that master." "You better hope it doesn't." With Satan's threat in mind, I immediately departed for the surface. All I knew is that when I did return, whether or not I failed; I would have and all out duel, no mercy.


	2. Chapter 2

I Am Death (Chapter 2)

Return of the Guardian

I was in quite the predicament; if I succeeded in my assignment I would return home, be thanked by my master but then would duel with Semiazas. If I were to fail, I would be facing Lucifer himself in another duel, but this time he would go all out. I was sent by my master to release the soul of a saved mortal. It sounds simple, but there was one problem: a guardian angel between me and that mortal's soul. I did not care for the mortal's name, age, or occupation; my only concern was that guardian. The first time I came across one it was unexpected and I was inexperienced and therefore unprepared. My second encounter, however, I had help. It was the first time I fought alongside Semiazas, the demon of war. His job was to distract the angel long enough for me to go in for the kill. Both the angel and the demon were immortal; I, unfortunately, am not and am open to harm from both spiritual and physical beings. I can stand up to an attack from a mere mortal, but these angels have been in war against demons since the beginning of time and were not frightened of my presence. I was much more experienced than my previous encounters with these angels, but this was my first time against one solo.

I had found my target in a place of which I would have not expected. When I entered his home, I first searched his bedroom, then downstairs, but to no avail I could not find him. While I was downstairs I heard the faint sound of running water, so I returned upstairs to find the man taking his daily shower. This was awkward for me because I had never been in a situation like this; but I continued with my duty and moved forward. Knowing what to expect, I went ahead and swung my blade; and just as I had predicted the guardian appeared to parry my attack. "You come alone Death, you are foolish and will fall before my sword." The angel said. "His time has come guardian, step aside." "I will continue to stand in my respected place so long as you continue to do your respected duty." "You leave me no choice angel, prepare yourself." As I lifted my scythe once again, all of Semiazas's teachings came back into my mind; I would need all that he taught me just to survive this battle.

Semiazas showed me that the Devil's scythe has a special feature. The bottom of the rod can fold into itself to create a smaller, deadlier close range weapon. It also allowed me to wield the blade one handed, which opened a new range of agile attacks. I was in a very tight space so I needed to sacrifice power for size. I used this to my advantage against the angel wielding his heavy long-sword. There wasn't much room for him to attack, which raised my chances of accomplishing my mission. Semiazas taught me to let my opponent make the first move; the first move meant the first mistake. As the guardian made the first strike, it nailed the ground beside me with a heavy thump. I evaded his attack and moved in for the early defeat, but I should've known that one of God's guardian angels would not be conquered so easily and quickly. The angel immediately dropped his long-sword and quickly unsheathed a new weapon. As he once again blocked my attack, I stepped back to examine his weapon. It appeared to be a short-sword but was almost dagger-like. Now we were on even ground concerning our weapons. I had considered using the hell-quake on the mortal, but he was saved and would not perish in hell, so that power was out of the question. I did have one other option, use Semiazas's newest move that he taught me: how to disarm my opponent. He only taught me when my scythe was fully extended; I had to compromise with the small weapon I was now carrying. "If I could only wrap the curve of the blade around his wrist, I could retrieve his sword." I thought. This was my last and only chance. I went in for the final strike; I wrapped the blade around the angel's wrist, but little did I know, he pulled a second dagger from another sheath and stabbed me in my back. The pureness of the angel's steel dagger burned my bones and only stopped once I removed it. "Now be gone Reaper, it is not this mortal's time yet. I am sparing you this one time, leave or I will take your soul to be judged by my master: the Lord God." I took the guardian's offer into heavy consideration, I knew it would be the wisest to leave but if I did, all would not be well in hell. I had no choice and disappeared immediately into the depths of hell. I returned to a furious demon and what I thought would be the last I would ever be called by the name Grim Reaper.


	3. Chapter 3

I Am Death (Chapter 3)

Showdown

I knew what was coming and there was nothing I could do to stop it; I was preparing to fight my master. Lucifer said that if I had failed in my assignment then he would fight me personally. I had fought him before, but Semiazas said that Lucifer only fought me at his minimal power. He was so strong and I barely won that battle. What was I going to do? How do I fight the second most powerful being in the universe? I tried to come up with surprise moves on my way down to hell, but Satan had a little surprise of his own for me.

"Welcome back Death, why do you look at me like that?" "I failed, master, I am sorry. I am ready to face my judgment." "I know you failed Death, I expected it. You need more training, more experience." "I am prepared to take you on." "No you're not, you are still of use to me, but if you can't defeat you're upcoming opponent, then you are worthless to me. I will not yet fight you, instead you will be fighting one of my other demons, and I don't mean Semiazas." "Who is my victim, master?" Lucifer then gave me a devious look and began laughing in a terrifying way. I was actually scared as to what he had planned. All became quite at that moment, with the only noise being the crackling of the fires around me. I heard footsteps approaching and from behind Lucifer's throne emerged a demon. He wielded two sickles, one in each hand, and was about my height but had a smaller build. His entire body was covered in what appeared to me as a black cloak, but as I took a closer look I realized it wasn't a cloak, but instead black fire engulfing his body. The only parts that remained completely visible were his hands and head, which was a bare skull like mine. The first thought that ran through my head was the question of could this be a new Reaper that Lucifer replaced me with? "Who is this Devil?" "You know who he is. You and Semiazas discussed this demon of mine so long ago. This is the demon of hatred, Sonneillon. Eternal dark fires of bitterness follow him wherever he goes and whomever he touches feels the same wrath as he does. As I looked away from my master and looked at Sonneillon, he was staring me down with this evil grin. "Hahaha…Grim Reaper…pathetic! Can't deal with a single guardian. You're worthless!" he mocked me. "This will be you're greatest challenge yet, worse than that demon that you failed to detain." Satan said. "O…and if I forgot to mention, Sonneillon has all the same powers that you do…have fun."

Before I could even look away from Lucifer, I felt a hard shoulder hit my rib cage at high speed. I flew back and smacked a fiery wall then fell flat on my face. "Stand Reaper! SHOW ME YOUR RAGE!" I slowly got on my knees and looked up only to find Sonneillon right in my face. "RAGE!" is what he screamed at me as he grabbed me by the throat and lifted me off the ground. He held me there for a second then launched me towards my master. Lucifer reacted with a quick, powerful jab to the back of my ribs, breaking one of them as I fell back on my face. "Keep me out of this Sonneillon, this is your fight!" Sonneillon's only response was a frightening grin followed by a maniacal laugh. "Is this how powerful I should be?" I thought, "I'm getting destroyed. I have to come up with a counter quick." The only idea I had was a very stupid one. I stood back up while Sonneillon was ten yards away. He immediately charged me again so I did the same. Just as we were about to make contact, I used my first power, vanishing, to pass through his body and on to the other side. Confused and still moving, Sonneillon turned around and dug his sickles into the ground to use them as breaks. We were once again yards apart but on opposite sides this time. I was now standing where Sonneillon once was, right in front of a lava pit "Come demon, I am Death and your time has come." This sent the already crazy demon into a frenzy and he charged me faster than before. I once again used my oldest power to make him phase through me and fall into the lava pit. Satan raised his eyes a little because of my slightly impressive quick thinking. "Very good Death, but your job here is not done." Fearing his words, I turned to the lava and saw a hand emerging from the pit. It grabbed the ledge as I backed away; Sonneillon crawled out of the pit of which I had banished him to. "Ha very clever Reaper, but this is far from over."

I looked over his body and there wasn't even a scratch on it, I thought I could maybe outsmart him but it looked like I would have to use my scythe. "I haven't even begun to use my precious sickles." That's when I realized that he was right, he wasn't even using his full capabilities and I was already having difficulties just putting a mark on him. I pulled my scythe off my back and held firm as Sonneillon slowly walked towards me. When he was close enough to strike, he did exactly that; I tried to block his attacks but he was so fast. For being as reckless as he is, he wielded those weapons with deadly precision. Adding to his unique weapons of choice was the fact that he held one normally but had the other one under-slung under his arm. He was a very unorthodox fighter and I had very little defense against his tactics. I decided that I would fight fire with fire by transforming my scythe into a much shorter version; it was the closest I would get to a sickle. I too held it under-slung but only as a defensive measure. "Show me your anger! Show me your rage!" he screamed again. His attacks were unmerciful and relentless; it brought me down to my knees as I could not take much more. He took his under-slung sickle and caught a hold of one of my ribs and yanked it out, then kicked me on my back. This gave me a flash back of the moment I brutally murdered my father. I had torn a gash in his flesh under his ribs and kicked him on his back…and then went in for the kill. I feared the same for my life. Sonneillon had disarmed me of my scythe and now I was completely defenseless. As I laid there on my back, I was thinking about my past. Tim Wakes was my name, I had lived a miserable life; the only highlight was the day I exterminated my family and moved into the asylum. I was twenty-five when the old Reaper took me to Lucifer. I sat there fearing my judgment but was given the opportunity to become his new Reaper. I had no other choice but to accept it and now lying before Sonneillon; I almost started to regret that decision.

Sonneillon raised his blade for the last time and as it came down I saw I flash of steel and then shut my eyes. When I opened them again, I saw Sonneillon's sickle lying next to my skull and my murderer standing frozen above me. I looked down at his stomach and saw a large blade had entered his gut and came out the other end. "What do you think you're doing?" screamed Lucifer. Standing behind Sonneillon was my teacher, Semiazas. He pulled his axe from Sonneillon's stomach and watched him as he fell in two halves. "You fool! I had him!" said Sonneillon in pain. "You will heal, he will not" Semiazas said as he pointed to me. "Why would you do this?" I asked. "Because you are my student, and I have not finished teaching you all I know. Your lessons aren't done, and I'm not going to let this pathetic demon have you perished down here." "…thank you" I answered. Semiazas looked up at the Devil, "Are you going to stop me Lucifer?" "No, you are correct, Death still has a lot to learn and he will learn under your teachings. Go, leave me be." "Yes master." Semiazas responded. He picked me up and carried me off to his arena. "Rest here Death, we will continue when you are in better condition." "Wait, before you go, why did you really save me?" "…Even down here in the depths of hell, some of us look after each other."

Satan remained in his throne as Sonneillon was crawling back to his lower torso to connect to it. "Why did you let them just go? You are the Devil, why didn't you disintegrate them right there when Semiazas struck me down?" "I still have great use for both of them. You will get your vengeance soon, we both will; I promise."


	4. Chapter 4

I Am Death (Chapter 4)

Alocer

As I laid there on the ground waiting for my wounds to heal, I watched Semiazas train with one of the other demons. He was a great warrior; Semiazas knew all the tricks and powers and therefore was dubbed the second most powerful being in hell. I believe the demon he was fighting was named Alocer. He appeared in what seemed to be a knight's armor and wielded a halberd type weapon. They were both warriors and almost evenly matched. "Use my teachings Alocer." Semiazas said to his opponent. Like me, Alocer was under Semiazas's training; he had been taught by Semiazas for centuries and had learned much. It then occurred to me that although I was one of the weakest beings in hell I wielded the strongest weapon and was most favored by Lucifer. It didn't make sense to me at the moment, but Lucifer explained earlier that I was only beginning to unlock the full potential of the Grim Reaper. I turned my attention away from my thoughts and focused back on the fighting, hoping that I would learn something from watching them duel.

Alocer's halberd could be described as a multi-purpose weapon. It looked like someone attached a single bladed axe to a spear. So it was both a close range and medium range weapon. But it had the potential to easily disarm his opponent with a bent steel blade on the back of the spear. He was a master with this weapon; he knew what range to use when it needed to be used and also used great discernment when choosing his attacks. Going back to the fight at hand, Semiazas struck his mighty axe towards Alocer, but he evaded to the left and swung his halberd around to the curved blade and caught ahold of the rod of the axe. He tried to pull it from Semiazas hands but he was too strong and instead pulled the halberd from its rightful owner. "Nicely done master." Said Alocer. "The same goes for you warrior, soon you shall become one of the most powerful demons ever created." "I plan to master." "How do you feel Death?" asked Semiazas. "I could be…better." I responded. "Well I do believe that Lucifer has another assignment for you, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to disappoint him again." I stood up and departed to my master's throne room.

"There you are Death. It's nice of you to show up and you look like you're getting better, but you wouldn't have this problem if you were a better warrior." "I tried master, I am sorry." "Please save me your emotions. Let's get to the reason you are here. Since you are still inexperienced I'm going to send you to your next mission with much help. Semiazas will assist you of course, but I'm also sending Sonneillon and Alocer with you as well." "Why? What could be so difficult for me to need this much help? Are Semiazas and I not sufficient?" "Not for this assignment, you two are not. There is an old couple, their time has come for both mortals and you shall grant them their freedom. The problem is that they are strong with the Lord and have more angels guarding them than the average Christian. That is why I am sending you with so much help. You will leave immediately and do not disappoint me; I will be watching you."

I informed Semiazas and Alocer of their job and left for the surface. Sonneillon was already told by Lucifer what he had to do, which also made me a little suspicious. When the three of us arrived on the surface, Sonneillon was standing there waiting for us. "It took you long enough." He said. "Silence demon or I will silence you myself." Said Alocer. "So this is the place? You three know what to do?" "Yes" "Yes" said both Semiazas and Alocer, but Sonneillon was more stubborn than the rest. "Do not tell me what to do Reaper, I don't submit to Death." "You have no choice, Sonneillon, I am in charge of this mission and you WILL obey me." He only responded by looking at me with anger in his eyes. "How many are in there?" asked Semiazas. "It doesn't matter, they will all fall under my blade!" proclaimed Alocer. We passed through the house and located the couple asleep in their bedroom. I counted three guardian angels surrounding their bodies, protecting them from spiritual entities like us. It was perfect, three demons versus three angels while I made my way around them to get to the couple; I wish it were only that simple. One angel wielded a mace, another a spear, and the other a sword. "Get thee hence demons and depart from these mortal's household." The sword wielding angel said. "Who do you think you are to stop us from our duties?" foolishly asked by Sonneillon. The same angel had a response that made my non-existing heart drop. "I am the Archangel Michael. The mighty Lord God knew of your coming presence and ordered me to personally guard these mortal's lives. You will not pass Reaper." It was like he ignored the other demons and was talking directly to me. Sonneillon could not control his temper and made the first move. Semiazas had taught me that he who makes the first move makes the first mistake. Sonneillon charged the Archangel but was quickly struck down by his holy sword. "You cannot keep me down!" he said as he stood back to his feet. Semiazas grabbed Sonneillon and pulled him back behind him. "Let me handle this, I am more experienced than any of you." Surprisingly, Sonneillon obeyed and went after the angel with the mace, leaving the spear wielding angel to Alocer. They all seemed evenly matched except me, who sat tried to sneak around.

The bedroom was quite large but was very claustrophobic with all the fighting happening. Sonneillon was using his speed against the mace wielding guardian. "Show me your RAGE angel!" Sonneillon said as he hooked the chain of the mace but the guardian had the audacity to grabbed Sonneillon's arm and remove one of his sickles. Now it was sickle versus sickle. The demon had the mace in his possession but did not know how to properly wield it. "You want my rage, you have it demon." Sonneillon didn't realize what he was getting himself into; he was underpowered when compared to the angel. They both went in for a strike and their sickles locked together while they used their free hand to grab each other's throats.

At the same time, Alocer was fighting his battle; spear versus spear. The demon had a slight advantage with his spear having an axe and curved blade attached to it and the angel with only a rod with a steel tip. "Prepare to feel the sting of my blade!" Alocer said. "So long as you demons continue to live, I will have a motivation to continue guarding these mortals." Replied the guardian. Alocer attempted using his curved blade to disarm his opponent but the blade only slipped from the smooth rod; he was forced to use the axe and spear. The angel made the second strike and aimed for the demon's shoulder; trying to disarm his opponent by disabling them. Alocer raised his arm above the tip of the spear and locked his arm around the rod, and brought his axe down onto the angel's shoulder. The angel struggled to escape but to no avail, he could not. Alocer knew he had to remain in this position if I were to get around the guardians.

Semiazas was the last to do his job. This was a battle that I wish I could have watched more closely. Two angels who was charged with leading an army, two powerful, deadly, and experienced warriors. Both of them stood firm, waiting for the other to strike, but Semiazas knew that he would have to go against his own teachings if I were to succeed in my mission; and he did just that. He swung his heavy axe horizontally across Michael body, hoping to land on his flesh and do major damage. He should've known that it wouldn't have been that easy. The Archangel turned his sword over to block the axe. Semiazas brought his axe back to its original position as Michael raised his sword. When it was over his head, he brought the steel down on top of Semiazas, but Michael knew nothing about the gaps in Semiazas's axe. The steel blade entered through the gaps and lodged itself in there. Semiazas pulled the sword from Michael's hands, but Semiazas had used all is power in his first attack and was fatigued from his fight; that combined with Michael's heavy long-sword caused him to drop both the axe and the sword on the floor. Semiazas had one desperate last move: tackle the angel to the floor. As the demon held him on the flood he looked up at me. "Now Death, do it now!"

I pulled my scythe from my back but then remembered that I cannot harm the saved with my blade, so instead I laid my hand upon their hearts. After a while the beatings stopped and their souls left their bodies and departed for paradise. When my job was done, I turned around to see the three demons still engaged in battle. Sonneillon laughed as he let go of his opponent. The guardian immediately went after me with one of Sonneillon's own sickles. With one quick flash of steel, I fell to the ground in pain. "It is our time to leave this earth for now." Michael said as he disappeared from Semiazas arms; the other two angels followed as well. Alocer quickly put away his halberd and ran to my body. "We need to leave now!" "Let's go." Said Semiazas. And with that we went back to our paradise.


	5. Chapter 5

I Am Death (Chapter 5)

Massacre

"What were you thinking? Why did you let that guardian go? You are a fool Sonneillon!" Alocer screamed. Semiazas carried me down to hell and laid me before my master. "What happened to him?" Lucifer inquired. "He was struck down by a guardian's blade." "But not just any blade, Sonneillon's blade. He let the angel take it from him then purposely let the guardian go." Alocer interrupted. "He slipped from my arms master; there was nothing I could do." Sonneillon defended himself. "You lie!" Alocer screamed as he began to draw out his halberd. "If you want to fight, then come, show me your rage!" Sonneillon challenged. "Both of you stop! We must deal with the matter at hand." Semiazas said. "We'll settle this another time." "Bring Death closer." Lucifer ordered. "Hmm…it seems the blade entered through his spine and cracked it. You are very lucky Death; if it had been a holy weapon this situation would be much different. I will heal you of course, along with any other injuries you may have." "…thank you master." I could barely utter those words out of my mouth. "Semiazas, you know what to do." "Yes master." Semiazas picked me up again and carried me over to a pit of lave of which condemned souls were reaching out for my body. "What are you doing?" I asked. "Helping you, my friend." With those last words he dropped me into the pit, and I fell to the bottom. The liquid did not burn as I had originally thought it would, but the damned souls surrounded my almost lifeless body. They moved closer and one by one merged with my skeleton; I had no idea what the final results would be. The more souls that combined with me, the more strength I regained and even gained more than I had before. I finally stood up and swum up to the surface. My hand covered in the red hot lava burst through the surface and gripped the edge. As I pulled the rest of myself from the pit and stood up, I was now looking eye to eye with Semiazas. He had always been a foot taller than me but now we were even height. The three demons looked at me with awe; which caused me to look at myself. I was covered with those souls that had merged with me, but they had formed over my original robe and made another cloak over it. Alocer approached me and bent down on one knee and held out my scythe. "Your respected scythe, sir." "Thank you my friend." By saying those words I had noticed another thing, my voice had changed; it had become much deeper. With a completely new body and my weapon returned, I turned my attention to Sonneillon.

"You! You almost killed me up there!" I scolded him. He began to take a few steps back like he was intimidated by my presence. I then raised my scythe to strike down my opponent. "Stop Death! You need not take his life." Lucifer said. "You may have vengeance another time." It took every bit of power to restrain myself from taking the life of the traitor standing before me, but I managed to lower my scythe. "Alocer, Semiazas, you may leave now; but Death and Sonneillon will remain here." "Yes master." Alocer responded. "Now Death, I know that you have a lot of steam to blow off, so I'm sending you back to the surface on another assignment. This time you will take the life of a condemned mortal. Go now Death, leave me here with Sonneillon, for I must discus some things with him." I said nothing and did not hesitate to leave for earth's surface. Furious would be an understatement to describe myself at that moment; all I cared about was getting vengeance on that traitor. Little did I know that there were actually two traitors dwelling in hell.

When I was on top of the earth's crust, I had appeared on a city's street. I purposely forgot to hide myself under mortal eyes so I could blow off more steam. Some looked at me strange while others turned and walked the other way. As I walked down the street with my head and hood down, a man talking on his phone was walking towards me. I bumped into him, causing his phone to fall from his hand. He then made the foolish decision to push me and scold me. The minute I looked up and he saw the anger in my glowing red eyes, his heart dropped. But he did not have time to scream or run because in a matter of seconds, I swung my scythe and came down on a diagonal angel across his face. He and the other people surrounding us just stared at me. The man's face soon slid off his jaw, causing the crowd of people to run for their life. Some of their lives were ended from running from me, for they ran out into the road and were crushed by the passing vehicles. Some were even trampled to death. I did not care if these mortal were condemned or not, so I used my most devastating attack: the hell-quake. I raised my hand and the earth all around me began to shake. With a clench of my fist, the crust split open and burning hands reached out to grab any unlucky victims. The buildings also collapsed on top of some people, killing them and any who dwelled inside. Cars, not seeing the gaps in the road, drove into the now open crust and were also pulled down into the abyss that is hell. I couldn't help myself but laugh at the cries and blood coming from these expendable mortals. I still was not satisfied; I needed more blood, more violence. I used a recently given power to pull some victims close to me. I looked at a faraway human and pointed at him. I then clenched my fist, which resulted in a burning hand to burst from the ground at the mortal's feet and grab him. As I pulled my hand closer to my body, the human was dragged closer to me. He lay there, still trying to crawl away, but the hands kept him from doing so. I wanted to surgically destroy this man so I started with the arms; first the left, then the right was gone. I ever so gently rested the tip of my sharp blade on the flesh on his back and slowly moved it back. The steel caught into his skin and ripped it open as a pulled it back. I then forced my hand inside his body and grabbed a hold of his spine and proceeded to rip it from its respected position. His head also came out along with the entire spine. This massacre should keep me satisfied long enough for me to make it to my target.

My target was a middle aged man whose life was about to come to an abrupt end. I did not care for the element of surprise this time and used my blade to cut down his door. He heard the intrusion and came running to it. I immediately grabbed a hold of his throat, turned my scythe into its sickle form, and then hooked it into his organs. I yanked the blade from his flesh and many organs followed. I dropped him and he fell straight on his butt, looking on in horror as he was holding his own organs in his hands. "I am Death, and your time has come." It had been so long since I said those words, and it felt so good to say them again. I quickly struck down the poor man, and, with a sick sort of humor and pleasure, laughed as his damned spirit sunk into the depths of hell.

My assignment was finished, along with some others that I probably would've had before. So I essentially killed about a hundred birds with one stone, which made me very happy for the moment, but then I recalled Sonneillon and his treachery. Lucifer said that vengeance would have to wait for the future, well the future had come and I intended to finally get some revenge. With the surface of earth turned to a bloody mess, I returned home to settle a grudge with that malevolent demon.


	6. Chapter 6

I Am Death (Chapter 6)

Betrayal

I returned home with a bitter and angry heart and mind. Hell was dark; this was unusual for there was always fire engulfing the entire area. "Sonneillon, where are you?" I screamed. "Come out and face me you coward!" A voice then came from the darkness "You've done a good job, Death." "Whose there? Who are you?" Fires burst through the ground and emerging from them was my master. "O…it's you master. Forgive my scolding." "All is well Reaper. You have done excellent work up there on the surface. You are the first key to…it." "What's…it, sir." "The apocalypse; you are the beginning of the end of the world. You are the key to its ignition. That massacre upstairs was planned." "…What do you mean?" "I mean that all of this was planned. I originally had you fight Sonneillon in that first duel to tension between you two, then on that big assignment I recently sent you on (the one that I had you take him, Semiazas, and Alocer with you) was all a part of it too. I told him to find a way to cripple you, and he did just that; not the way I expected but it still worked. I only had you bring Semiazas and Alocer so you would be less suspicious. The next part of the plan was to get you a new, more powerful body. When that course of anger and bitterness ran through your mind, it drove you into a frenzy, but I restrained you from taking it out on him and sent you to the surface where you massacred hundreds of innocent mortals. Now you are of no use to me; I can continue with my plan to possess the Anti-Christ and become the ultimate deceiver. "You betrayed me…how…why would you do this master?" "You still ask simple questions after all these years. My old Reaper was sometimes hesitant in my orders and would not go through with them all the way and began to get suspicious. I had to quickly find a replacement, and you were the perfect candidate. A merciless, ruthless serial killer; you have no regrets at all about killing your family, and look behind you, they're right there burning for all eternity. Do you still feel regret? No, of course not. You did not hesitate to kill those people, and I knew you would not hesitate to follow my orders as long as you were killing something. You were blind to the whole plot all along, but then again I am the most deceiving being ever created. Now before I depart for my calling on the surface, I am going to watch Sonneillon tear you to pieces, and when he's done with you he will become my new and permanent Grim Reaper." "I cannot put into words how angry and furious I am with you, but I assure you that when I'm done with your demon, you will fall before my blade." "I find that highly unlikely."

Sonneillon once again came from behind Satan's throne just like he did when we first dueled. "I see you still hide like the coward you are, Sonneillon." His only response was his infamous smirk and evil laugh. I made the first move; the first mistake, and charged him. My eyes were burning with hatred as I went after that demon. I swung my scythe down when I was within striking distance, but I forgot how fast he was and he evaded my attack. "It's gonna feel so good to finally hold that Devil's scythe of yours." I charged again. "If you want it so bad then here take it!" I struck my scythe down upon him again, but this time angled it in the direction I thought he would roll. I got lucky and managed to strike a blow to his fragile body. "That was a good hit, right to the shoulder." He said, "But it will take more than that to finish me off." "O I plan to cause you much more pain! You wanted my rage? Well you finally have it!" I used the power that brings him closer to me on him. The hand burst from the ground and grabbed ahold of his ankles. "What is this?" I moved jerked my hand to my body which brought Sonneillon to me at a great speed. I dropped my hand to grab my scythe, but he was still flying towards my so I took advantage if this situation and turned my scythe upside down and dug the steel blade into his gut. Blood spewed from his mouth, "That was another good shot, but this is only a taste of my power." "What?" I said as he grasped my blade and slid it out from his punctured stomach. "Unlike most demons down here, I can transform, much like Lucifer; and also that is unusual is the fact that I can actually merge with my weapons."

His sickles then disappeared into is flesh and emerged as giant blades both attached to the top of his wrists. Spikes angled towards his hands ripped through the flesh on his arms, and long boney spikes tore through his spine and formed a long spikey back-bone. The wound on his stomach had healed and a slit appeared that wasn't there before. The slit opened up to reveal teeth inside, like another mouth was now where his gut was. His neck elongated and spikes protruded from the skin along his throat. His eyes turned to the same soul-piercing red as mine, and his face disfigured into a hideous being. This demon was truly worthy of the title, monster. "Now Reaper, you will feel my RAGE!" he said in a new darker voice. I was actually a little scared of this immortal being now. He struck with his embedded sickles which could not penetrate my thick robe. Instead of persistent attacks on my abdomen he focused on my skull. Sonneillon hooked one of his sickles under my jaw and pulled back, causing a major scratch along it. He then brought my head down to his spiked knee and dug it into my eye. I fell down on my knees, holding my eye tightly. "You're all alone, you were always alone, and now you're still alone even down here in hell." "I don't think so." A voice came from behind us. Sonneillon raised his head to discover a mad and fast approaching Alocer. He quickly dug the tip of his halberd into the face gut of Sonneillon, paralyzing him for a minute. "You recover for a little bit Death; I'll keep him distracted till then." Not far behind Alocer was Semiazas, my longest lasting friend in the abyss. "Stand Death, I am here to support you." He said. "I'm fine, Semiazas, but we need a plan." "I already have one." We discussed it quickly as Alocer fought off Sonneillon for a while. When we were done, we called Alocer back to us and he reacted by shoving Sonneillon and jumping back to us. "You told him the plan I assume?" "Yes Alocer, he knows what to do." "Come demons, let finish it!" Sonneillon screamed at us. All three of us rushed him; Alocer to the left, Semiazas to the right, and me down the middle. I slowed down a little to let the others get ahead. Alocer was very agile and leaped over Sonneillon. While his attention was focused on Alocer, Semiazas took his legendary axe to the injured gut of the twisted demon. With Sonneillon gripping his bleeding stomach, Alocer jabbed him from behind and picked him up with his halberd and slammed him to the ground. Semiazas turned his axe upside down to the very top of the rod (for there was a small gap between the tip and the curve of the blade, the same went for the halberd) and brought it down on top of Sonneillon's arm while Alocer did the same to his other arm. I approached the now crippled traitor. "Sonneillon, I am Death, and your time has come. Prepare to face eternal judgment and torment!" I lifted my Scythe high into the air and brought down my hatred and bitterness upon him. He screamed out in pain and horror of his final destination. Semiazas had told me that only the Devil's scythe could take the life of an angel or demon; fortunately I was given that weapon by its respectful owner. Sonneillon's flailing body turned and twitched as it burned up and turned to ashes on the ground. That's one traitor down, now there's one more left to deal with. "Will you two stand with me?" "Of course, it was getting kinda boring around here anyways." Alocer said. "I will always stand behind you Death; my blade is your blade." Said Semiazas reassuringly. Lucifer worried me because he laughed maniacally as his second and command was reduced to ashes on the ground. "I am going to greatly enjoy this!" Said the Devil. "I will banish the three of you into the bottom of hell, where traitors are condemned to for all eternity: the ninth circle of hell!"


	7. Chapter 7

I Am Death (Chapter 8 Final)

Vengeance

I have to get out of here, I have to stop my master; I WILL get out of here. Death has been trapped in the timeless ninth circle of hell where Abbadon banished him and his two comrades. Frozen to a wall for eternity, they could neither speak nor even look at each other; they could only hear their own thoughts within their minds. Not even the mighty Semiazas could break himself free from his frozen prison so it was impossible to break the ice trapping him and his friends. Death, of course, had thought of a different technique. "Why didn't I think of this sooner? I must've been too consumed by the thoughts of my past; thinking through all my mistakes and what I could've done differently. I have reviewed my entire life up to this point, and here is where it stops? No, the Grim Reaper will not be stopped by a little ice. There's only one thing that can free me." Death had thought of using his first and oldest power: teleportation. All he had to do was picture where he is now and where he wants to go next. He pictured the bitter ice surrounding his entire body and then moved on to the frozen arena that lay before him. In a split second he was on the other side of his jail, starring at the other two demons. "It worked? Yes! Now I need a way to free Alocer and Semiazas." His first response was to use brute force; he struck Semiazas's crystal again and again but to no avail it did not even crack. He landed one last hard blow on the ice and rested his hand on it and dropped his head in disappointment. "I'm sorry my friends, I could not save you from your eternal prisons." Just as he looked up, the souls that made up his robe began to converge on the ice. Once it had been completely engulfed by the spirits, it started to melt. With the sheet thinning every second, Semiazas gathered the strength to break himself free. "Death, how long have we been down here?" "I don't know Semiazas. Just free Alocer so we can wreak our vengeance on our former master." Semiazas turned around to see his demon comrade still frozen to that same wall and with a strong blow from his massive hands; Semiazas broke through Alocer's prison. He immediately fell to his knees. "Alocer quickly recover your strength, we have a battle to finish." "Wait, both of you can use the same teleportation technique that I used, why did you not take advantage of it?" Death inquired. "It never crossed my mind; I was too focused on getting revenge on that traitor." Alocer responded. "I agree with my brother." Semiazas acknowledged. "Come both of you, our job is not yet finished. When we return to the surface, be ready for anything; we don't know how long it's been and what Abbadon has done to the earth. Will you two stand beside me in one last battle?" "Of course Death, I would not abandon you now." Semiazas answered. "Neither would I. Now why are we still standing here? We have a demon to destroy."

I could return to the surface by teleportation for I was the last one up there before Abbadon went on his rampage, but Alocer and Semiazas could not join me, at least not immediately. Our plan was to send me to the surface, and when I arrived at my destination my two demons would picture me and hopefully appear next to me. I thought of the city streets of where I left hundreds dead in roads, and in an instant I was there. Once I left my comrades' sides they thought of me and soon reappeared by my side. Our eyes widened and our jaws dropped from the awe of what Abbadon has done to earth. The entire sky was no longer blue, but blood red; and to add to the effect, the sun had also changed from it bright and blinding yellow to pitch black. The once tall buildings lining the streets were now reduced to piles of rubble on the cracked and broken ground. Burning and rotting bodies lay at every step we took across this wasteland. The dehydrated atmosphere slightly burned my friends' skin; it was impossible for human life to prevail on this God forsaken world. Far off in the distance there appeared to be a tornado touching on the ground, but that was no natural disaster; it was a spiritual war ground. The three of us quickly warped to that location and was shocked by the scenes we saw. Angels fighting demons, demons fighting angels; our former brothers were being vanquished by the hundreds, but we did not pity them, they chose their path and we chose ours. "Look there! Our weapons." Alocer pointed out. "I would like to keep the element of surprise. Let me try to bring them to us." I said. I focused as hard as I could for this was the farthest distance I had ever tried to use this power on and this time I was using it on three targets. I pictured the three demons in my mind and then swiftly clenched my fist. Soon afterwards, three hands appeared below each of the three demons, and they were now being pulled to us as I brought my hand closer. They paid no attention to where they were heading but only at the battle that they were quickly being forced out of. When the three turned around they saw a fast approaching large, powerful demon charging them. Semiazas only meant to tackle them but instead he ripped their upper torsos from the rest of their bodies. "Here, I believe this belongs to you, Death. And this to you, Alocer." We both gave him our gratitude and returned our focus on our main target. Up in the air, flying high above his army was Abbadon, mocking his enemies as they also fell before his minions. "Semiazas, do you think you can launch me?" "Yes of course, you're still a skeleton and your very light, but why would you…O… I would love to. Come close." I walked closer to my friend and he picked me up over his shoulders. "Are you ready Death?" "Yes, but one thing, as soon as you throw me, both you and Alocer rush to my location as fast as possible; I'm going to need as much help as I can get." "Yes sir, I understand." Said Alocer. With those last words, Semiazas used all of his strength to launch me at the same being that had recently banished me for eternity. I flew through the air with ease readying my blade for a power strike to bring this Demon back down to earth. Abbadon was distracted with his army, but when he took the time to look up and saw me coming at him, I swear I saw a glimpse of fear in his eyes. He had no time to react for I was already within striking distance. I spun my Devil's scythe around to gain more momentum and dug the blade into the middle of his chest and moved to the side to try to bring him to the ground. He tried to fly back up using his huge bat wings, but I had more power and momentum and forced him back down to the hellish world that he created. With a thundering slam, he hit the crust, causing a deep crater in the landscape. All the millions of demons around stopped their fighting and turned their attention to their fallen master. "See? You're 'prince of darkness' is weak and pathetic! Do not follow this treacherous monster, but instead look to your former Lord: God the Almighty!" The angels also took interest in my words, one out from the crowd yelled, "You chose your path demon! It is too late to earn redemption now." "I made my mistakes I know, I plan on burning for eternity in the dreaded Lake of Fire, but at least let me take this beast there with me personally." "You're not taking me anywhere!" I was scared to turn around to the voice coming out from the pit. I took a few steps away from it as Abbadon climbed his way out of the crater. "You are persistent Death. I have sculpted a fine and determined warrior. If you want vengeance so bad, then come get me, I'm right here." He gave me that same evil smirk that he had in hell as I sprinted after him, but in a quest for my own revenge I had forgotten Semiazas's teachings: 'the one who makes the first move makes the first mistake.' The Devil dodged to the right and used his free hand to grab me and throw me far, far away: at the feet of an all too familiar angel.

"Why are you still standing around? Keep fighting you brutes!" Satan ordered to his demons. "I see we now fight for the same cause." A voice came from above me. I looked up to discover the commander of these angels: Michael. "You're not going to strike me down, Archangel?" "I would if you were fighting alongside that monster, but you are not. You seem to have felt guilt in your heart and now you are trying to redeem yourself of your past mistakes." Michael couldn't have been more accurate in describing the reasons for my actions. "I take it that we are temporary allies?" "At this moment, yes we are." "One more thing, angel, I also have two other demons who feel the same way, they want redemption fueled by revenge." "I know, they're behind you." I turned around to see that the angel was correct; my friends were once again by my side and ready to finish this battle once and for all. Michael had given the order to his angels to force the demons away from Lucifer and isolate him, which left him open for the four of us.

We swiftly made our way to Abbadon, and when we arrived at his position he looked on at his three former minions with intent of destroying us, but looked at Michael with fear in his eyes. He looked all of us over and over again, growing impatient by waiting for one of us to attack. As he became more and more anxious, he finally charged us; which is exactly what we wanted. He came right down the middle and passed through us as Alocer and his brother dodged to the left and Michael and I evaded to the right. He dug his claw into the ground to stop and when he stood back up we were completely surrounding him. His back was turned to Alocer who took the axe end of his halberd and made a large gash next to his spine. "AH! You wretched little…" When he turned to Alocer his back was then facing Michael who hacked a chunk of flesh from the left side of his back using his long-sword. "RAWR! How dare you!" Abbadon picked up on our strategy and took to the air, but only one of us could fly: Michael. He too took to the air and followed him high above the ground. "Why don't you join my ranks, angel? You would make an excellent commander and I could grant you powers beyond your imagination." "I shall only utter the words of your destruction, Devil." Abbadon's once smirk turned to and angry frown and attempted to strike the Archangel down. Michael flew under his flaming sword and used his long-sword to work on the gash on the back that Alocer had recently delivered to the Demon. "AH! You shall not bring me down Archangel!" The three of us looked on with astonishment as we watched the legendary battle between evil and good. Lucifer pulled out his three-tailed whip and wrapped it around Michael wrists. He started to bring him in, but Michael used this to his advantage to fly even faster towards Abbadon and land another blow to his left side, working on the other gap in his flesh. This, of course, only angered The Devil more which made him more careless and open to attack. He charged at the angel at full speed but Michael once again dodged it. This time he flew upwards and aimed his attack at the Demons wings, cutting them off and letting him fall back to the earth. "Demons finish him off!" the Archangel yelled at us. Before we had time to attack, Abbadon had returned to his feet, preparing for another fight. "You will fall before us Devil." Alocer said with confidence. Semiazas then attacked him with his axe, but Satan wrapped his whip around his blade and pulled him close enough to grab and hold him as a shield that covered half his body. Semiazas was strong, but not strong enough to break free of this beast. Alocer was closer to him while I was slightly farther back. We both attacked at the same time, but Abbadon parried Alocer's blade and he too was captured. By the time I had seen what had happened, it was too late to stop my scythe from making contact with flesh. The scythe had built up momentum to the point that I could not stop it and I watched in horror as I decapitated my only two friends I had in this world. Their bodies soon burned up as Satan dropped them and turned to ashes on the ground. "Look what you did Death." He said laughing with his maniacal chuckle. "You…you…I will kill you!" I said with unbelievable anger. "Have fun." "Death, wait! Do not strike at him!" Michael tried to warn me, but I would not listen, I was only consumed with more vengeance. I used all my current strength for one blow, but I was careless and paid for it dearly. Satan had used his fire sword to impale me through my robe and onto the other side of my body. Michael quickly swept down and knocked Abbadon back a few yards. I stood up, appearing that I had not been injured at all. "Wait, how are you still standing? That strike should've killed you!" My body was feeding off the pure hate and anger that had built up and was now unleashing itself.

At that point, the entire earth began to shake, and massive crack tore open the crust and fire started to spew out from it. Lava poured out the sides and was quickly spreading across the landscape. "What is that?" I asked. "God has opened up the Lake of Fire. This is our chance, Reaper, to condemn this Devil once and for all eternity." Michael replied. "I have an idea, angel, but it cannot be done without you." I said as I strained just to get every word out. "I need you to attack him with all your power and launch him into the air; I will take over from there." "Very well Reaper, I will go along with your plan." As soon as Satan stood back up, he was stabbed in the gut again by Michael who then proceeded to throw him into the sky. I gathered what was left of my strength and ran and jumped on Michael's shoulders who gave me a boost towards the doomed Beast. I raised my scythe one last time, "I AM DEATH AND YOUR TIME HAS COME ABBADON!" I struck my Devil's scythe down into his skin with all my power and brought him with me into the Lake of Fire. We were the first to enter this eternal torment; the other demons soon fell to the angels' blades and were too thrown into this Great Lake. "You fool! I was so close to reigning over this universe!" "You were nowhere close Devil. God wouldn't have let you come anywhere near close to His position! Now you shall get what you deserve, and suffer with me in this Grave!"

I am now floating here, in this Lake, under eternal torment. I keep repeating this story over and over again in my head, thinking of ways I could've changed it, maybe I could have saved my friends, but the outcome would've remained the same. I may be inflicted with this ageless plague, but it brings some peace to my mind knowing that I have accomplished my vengeance and because of it, Abbadon will no longer walk this earth.


End file.
